September 11, 2025

We took this side trip to China with about 15 others from the Ship!

L to R - Gary, Me, Sarah, Colleen & John- next row Alex, MaryAnn, Sherie, Darrell, Phil - last row Chaz, Angela & Steve, Christy, Bosco & Bob. Most of us all booked the same flights, train to Shanghai and Hotels - safety & collaboration in numbers! Our Hotel, Guo Ji Yi Yuan  in BeiJing was at a great location, right in the heart of the city, zone 1, close to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Walking around our first night we saw so much activity and tried our first Hot Pot, we were amateurs at how to do it! The menu was a giant photo coffee table book with pretty pictures and no English so we had to translate everything !! Pointing didn't work well here.

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When we booked our hotel we didn't know it was 80th anniversary of China's Victory Day and that they would be shutting down the streets and attractions within zones 1 & 2 starting 9/1, for days, for a giant Military Parade on 9/3! We were told the day after our arrival 8/31, that we would most likely be confined to our Hotel for 24 hours, from 6 pm 9/2 to 9/3.

Singapore - Little India

By Pat Patick • August 11, 2026
Little India is a neighborhood in Singapore that I wanted to explore becase I love Indian food and their Temple's have such unique gods and Architecture, super colorful and detailed. Below is the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, Singapore's first temple dedicated to Veeramakaliammam or the Kali , a fierce incarnation of Shiva's wife and the "Destroyer of Evil" .

SINGAPORE - Cooking Class

By Pat Patrick • August 10, 2026
Other residents had a great experience at Singapore's Food Playground on prior visits, so we wanted to try it out! Our first day in Port, twelve of us signed up for a fun afternoon, where we got to enjoy our creations as a yummy lunch. Front row (L to R) is Ellie, Rick, their visiting friend, Sue, Christy and Angela. Back Row - Me, Bosco, Delia, John, Terri & Lori.

KOH CHANG, THAILAND

By Pat Patrick • July 26, 2026
We just relaxed on the Island of Koh Chang, Thailand. It's one of the largest Thai Islands in the Gulf of Thailand and it has a dense, steep jungle & National Park covering the interior of the Island, which extends off shore, to coral reefs. The coast line is dotted with beaches and villages. This was a tender port, so we decided to stay on the Island for 3 nights, to be able to experience the nightlife. Turns out, it is low season, so nightlife was pretty sleepy. However, we did find a new favorite night time activity! Any Guesses?!?